Track -1

Prologue

Cherry blossoms fell down seasoned trees in the Seireitei, following amongst the thousands of soldiers that had stood under their graceful shade. It was true what they said, the red and pink color of the blossoms did come from blood, it was the only logical explanation of the newborn trees on the dead bodies that had been buried those three years ago. The sunrays below fell amongst the many trees and onto the sad faces of the Shinigami that were at the funeral procession, their swords held high in honor of the man that they all once flocked under with obedience. Each Shinigami had seen this coming for years, and at the forefront of their minds they asked one question, who would be the new leader of them all?

At the front of the stairs below the massive coffin at the top stood the twelve remaining Captains of the Gotei 13. Each one with a hiyori, each one having either long or short white sleeves, and each one having some expression of sadness on their face. Slowly each one walked up the stairs to the open coffin, and finally two of them, both two of the eldest Captains walked up to the coffin, looking down at the face of their Sensei.

One had long hair, silver in color, and his face was one of utmost silence as he looked down at the old man, tears streaming from his face. The other one, wearing his pink kimono and his straw hat had an expression of apathy on his face, though those that knew him knew that below that apathy was extreme sadness like no other. The day had finally come when their Commander had died, a peaceful and natural death though a death none the less.

And now it was time for the new Captain-Commander to take the forefront of the Shinigami.

[Authors Note: Really short, I know. Some of the Captains from the Canon Bleach are dead and are replaced by new ones, but which ones those are will remain a mystery :o]